High-intensity exercise has recently emerged as a potent alternative to aerobic regimens, with ramifications for health and brain function. As part of this trend, single sessions of intense exercise have been proposed as powerful, noninvasive means for transiently enhancing cognition. However, findings in this field remain mixed, and a thorough synthesis of the evidence is lacking. Here, we synthesized the literature in a meta-analysis of the acute effect of high-intensity exercise on executive function. We included a total of 1,177 participants and 147 effect sizes across 28 studies and found a small facilitating effect (d = 0.24) of high-intensity exercise on executive function. However, this effect was significant only compared with rest (d = 0.34); it was not significant when high-intensity exercise was compared with low-to-moderate intensity exercise (d = 0.07). This suggests that intense and moderate exercise affect executive function in a comparable manner. We tested a number of moderators that together explained a significant proportion of the between-studies variance. Overall, our findings indicate that high-intensity cardiovascular exercise might be a viable alternative for eliciting acute cognitive gains. We discuss the potential of this line of research, identify a number of challenges and limitations it faces, and propose applications to individuals, society, and policies.
Keywords: HIT; acute physical exercise; attention; cognitive control; cognitive flexibility; inhibitory control; working memory.